LEON, MEXICO— For generations, people of this central Mexican state have trekked to the U.S. and labored on farms and ranches, in factories and construction.

But now this traditional exodus is reversing itself in ways that could profoundly impact both Mexico and America: Immigrants returning to their native lands are starting industries and businesses so they can stay home.

By many measures and anecdotal evidence, waves of illegal immigrants are leaving the U.S. and returning to countries such as Mexico because of the tough economy and immigration enforcement. To respond to this trend, the Mexican government in recent years has increased funding for projects run by immigrants who have returned.

In Guanajuato, a variety of industries have started: a women’s cooperative producing restaurant tablecloths, a tequila distillery and a factory to assemble tote bags for California wineries.

Susana Guerra, director of migrant affairs for Guanajuato state, said immigrants who return home usually have some money set aside and want to use it to start a business. “So we are working ... to have projects for them to have an opportunity for them to be a businessman in the community,” she said.

One of the ventures in Guanajuato is the Nuevo Lindero Dairy Society,a dairy cooperative founded by former immigrants on the outskirts of Leon that provides employment for 45 families. Many of the farmers are immigrants who have returned from the U.S. or are relatives of immigrants still working there.

“Here, almost 50 percent of the population goes to the United States. When they reach 18, they say, ‘See you later,’” explained Jesus Ramirez, a former illegal immigrant who is president of the Nuevo Lindero Dairy Society. “With this source of jobs, we hope our children will stay.”

The cooperative produces an average of 4,000 liters of milk daily from a herd of 250 cows. By offering the raw product collectively to wholesalers, they were able to command a higher price. To do that, the cooperative installeda distribution center next to the highway with a 9,000-liter stainless storage tank.

Financing struggles

But at the dairy and other immigrant-run operations in Guanajuato, the small enterprises face many challenges.

Even with state and federal grants and private loans, small business operators say they are struggling without access to low-interest financing for equipment, facilities and basic supplies. And a 30 percent devaluation of the Mexican peso since last summer has made key imported goods — including seeds, fertilizer and heavy equipment — more expensive.

For example, the dairy farmers are often forced to sell cows to pay for equipment or other needs.

The distribution center was built by city crews but the land and equipment were provided by the farmers, said Juan Aguilera, an engineer with the city of Leon’s rural development department, which provides technical support to the cooperative.

Western Union recently gave the cooperative an $80,000 check, an effort by the company to help home communities of U.S. immigrants who wire money home. It will be used to buy much-needed machinery. The cooperative’s next project is a warehouse to stockpile its surplus grain.

Juana Guerrero, 45, a widow of an illegal immigrant who had lived in the U.S., is one of seven women farming at the cooperative.

“It’s been a little harder without my husband, but my son helps,” said Guerrero, who has six cows on her small farm. “I get up at 5:45 a.m., clean the stalls, feed them, and then I milk the cows so my son can take the milk in on his way to school.”

Guerrero hopes her 14-year-old son will stay on the farm and not join the exodus of young men seeking jobs in the U.S.

Government officials say the immigrant enterprises can reverse the harmful social effects to families left behind and communities who lose some of their best workers to migration.

“It’s a way for us to provide, as much as we can, new opportunities for our citizens and at the same time, strengthen the local and state economies and provide them with hope after they return to our country,” said Ricardo Alday, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Creating jobs

Outside the city of Dolores Hidalgo in Guanajuato, Blas Chavez and brother Alejandro Chavez, who worked as an illegal immigrant in San Antonio, grow tomatoes year- long in two large green houses they’ve erected in the past three years. So far, they’ve been able to hire 25 workers from surrounding villages.

“Our workers are from the community,” Blas Chavez said. “They can work here all year, and they don’t have to risk taking the trip north.”

Josue Garcia Arteaga was one of six workers inside the 10,000-square-meter greenhouse, preparing raised beds for the next planting of tomatoes.

It’s a different life for Garcia, 25, who entered Texas illegally and worked at Mexican restaurants in Dallas and San Antonio for nearly five years before returning home last March. With the money he saved, he brought back a small car and a truck and built a house nearby.

“When I went to the United States, I was single,” Garcia explained. “When I came back, I got married. Now I have a son who is 11 months old. I have a job, and here, I can make what I need to maintain my family. That’s why I haven’t gone back.”

And while Alejandro Chavez is critical of countrymen who expect a handout, he insists the government needs to make a greater financial commitment to immigrants who want to help themselves. He acknowledges that the time-honored tradition of slipping into the U.S. is a hard habit to break.

“Right now I’m struggling to recruit kids to go to college,” said Alejandro Chavez, who also teaches at a local high school. “They say, ‘When I get out of high school, I’ll go to the north.’ They see their brothers and friends with a fancy big truck and they say, ‘I’m going to go north and get a truck.’ ”